http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/shocking-new-data-reveals-rate-446332

Worrying new figures have revealed that the number of private-hire taxis in Hull is falling dramatically.

Across the country, new data has shown that the minicab business is booming after the arrival of Uber combined with new rules which allow drivers to seek trade in areas outside the one where they received a licence.

However, Hull was found to buck the national trend as statistics showed that the city has 156 fewer private-hire vehicles than it had four years ago.

At the end of March 2013, there were 1,199 private-hire vehicles licensed by Hull City Council.

Fast forward four years, and that number has dropped significantly to just 1,043.

The fall means that Hull is losing the equivalent of three private-hire vehicles a month.

During the same four-year period, neighbouring North Lincolnshire saw an increase of 10 per cent as the number of private-hire taxi drivers leapt from 219 to 240.

Across England, the number of private-hire vehicles is up from 148,559 in 2013 to 205,480 in 2017. The number of black cabs - which have to be hailed down rather than pre-booked - has crept up in the same time from 73,023 to 75,549.

Private-hire vehicles are those that need to be pre-booked in advance and includes traditional ‘phone-up and book’ minicabs, as well as online rivals like Uber.

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All vehicles need to be licensed to a specific council area but but the current government has relaxed rules on where drivers can ply for trade through the 2015 Deregulation Act.

The new piece of legislations allows operators in one area to ‘sub-contract’ jobs to drivers licensed in a different area meaning that private-hire vehicles to operate across the whole of the country, regardless of where they were originally licensed.

While some argue that this leads to a more efficient service, others say it can lead to an oversupply of minicabs in lucrative areas - primarily larger cities - with “out-of-town” drivers converging on those customers.

Some councils have also expressed concerns that it makes it harder to enforce consistent safety standards among drivers operating in their area.

Worrying new figures have revealed that the number of private-hire taxis in Hull is falling dramatically.

Worrying for who?

Certainly not the existing drivers.

At the end of March 2013, there were 1,199 private-hire vehicles licensed by Hull City Council.

Fast forward four years, and that number has dropped significantly to just 1,043.

The fall means that Hull is losing the equivalent of three private-hire vehicles a month.